Improvement in apparatus for purifying oil obtained from mineral coal



GUMMINGS CHERRY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEIMENTIN APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING OIL OBTAINED FROM MINERAL COAL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l5,642, dated September 2, 1856.

To all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, CUMMINGS CHERRY, of Pittsburg, in Vthe county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented'a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Refiningand Purifying Oil Extracted from Coal or other Bituminous Minerals; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a ground plan of my apparatus. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a representation of the.

oil-tank and 'gasometen` Fig. Ltis a representation or front view of the horizontal retorts. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of one of the horizontal retorts. Fig.6 is a sectional view ofthe second condenser and stir, ringcistern. Fig. 7 is a representation of the blade of the stirrer.. Fig. Sis a sectional view of the second -stirringcistern. Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional representation of the steam-boiler and oilfboiler and their. furnace.4 Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of the oil-boiler.

My invention consists incertain new and A improved apparatus for purifying the crude oil obtained from bituminous coal specially adapted to that purpose, and by means of which the oil is fitted forv the purposes of illu Y tar, ammoniacal Water, and other crude sub` stances-Which impart a high color and offen sive odor to the oil in its crude state. der to accomplish this object I subject the ,crude oil to a certain process of purification,

which forms the subject of a distinct'applicationfor a patent. I shall therefore in this specification only describe this, process so far asis necessary to explain theobjects and uses of the apparatus I describe. f

The process of p'urilication may be either In or?` carried on distinct from the manufacture of the crude oil or immediately in connection with it. I shall therefore describe my purifying apparatus as connected with the manufacture, suggesting the obvious alterations necessary if this is not the case. The vapor of the crude oil, as it passes from the manufacturing-retorts, in which it is extracted from the coal, traverses the worm o in the prime condenser F, (see Fig. 3,) and is there condensed, whence it passes as crude oil through the pipe G into the oil tank or receiver H. If the purifying process is carried on distinct from the manufacture of the oil, the crude oil is put in the first place into the tank or receiver H, Fig. 3, the subsequent process in either case being the same, excepting so far as relates to precautions taken to dispose of any permanent gas which may pass into` the oil-tank H from the manufacturingretort, which would not exist if the manufacturing of the crude oil is not connected with the purifying process. From the prime condenser F, Fig.3, the crude oil, together With any` gas which may have been generated in the manufacture of the oil,.passes through the pipe G into the oiltank H, (see Fig. 9,) in which and the adjoining tank H the @linde on is allowed to kstand for a-time in case it has just been manufactured-say from t lree `days to a Weekin order' to settle and become more fully condensed, A pump, p, is inserted through the top of the tank H, andyext'ends down to the bottom of the cistern to pump the crude oil out into the gutter or conduit q, by which it is conducted into the horizontal retorts. rIhe tanks H and H` are connected by a pipe, p', leading from the bottom of H to near the bottom of H, so that when there is an excess of oil in H it may be drawn off intoHf, Where it is allowed to settle until neededg for use. The tank H serves as a gas-meter in which is collected the gas not condensed in the prime conv denser F. The covering r of the tank H being set in a water-joint, (see Fig. 3,) as is usu'al with gas-holders,fis hung o n a chain over` a pulley, and balancedloy weights, so as to rise orfall as the-gas 'enters or passes out. A gaspipe, s, leads from the top of the oil-tank H to the bottom of the tank or metenH, and, rising up through the latter above the level of the oil, discharges the gas from the tankHto the meter H', whence `the gas is taken and .l ing cold water.

purified in the ordinary manner, and may be used for illuminating or heating purposes. The crude oil, b'eing pumped out of the tank H into the conduit q, runs down to the horizontal retorts I I. (See Figs. 1, 4, and 5.) These retortsare made of cast-iron, two inches thick, and of cylindrical shape. They are set in an oven built of fire-brick, and are sup- .ported 'inside the oven by an arch of fire-brick constructed with interstices between the bricks Y to admit the passage of the fire and heat through the arch to the retort.y (See Figs. 4.- and.) The under surface of the horizontal retorts I I is ysurrounded with a casing of firetile, t, for the reason that if the re were allowed to act vimmediately on the bottom of these horizontal retorts, they would soon be burned out, and because when once heated they. are thus kept at a more .uniform ,degree of heat and are less susceptible to change of temperature. The crude `v`oil, passing along the conduit q, enters the rear end of the horizontal retor'ts \through"the pipe w, which is furnished with a stop-cock, x, to close the pipe when oil is not' being admitted. the forward end of the retort rises a perpendicular pipe, o, furnished with two copper heads, J and L, one above the other, and each surrounded with a jacket, K and M, containand LI passes a pipe-hT fromthe lower head, J, and O from the upper head, L`-( see Fig. 5,) both of which pipes open into the receiver I), which is placed at the rear end Aof the retorts. This receiver I) is tubular,and is placed horizontally over the series of horizontal retorts I I, and is connected with each retort by a short pipe, w. Fach of the pipes N, O, and

2v is furnished with astop-cock 02 x', and x2.

From the bottom of the receiver I), immediately. above its connection with the pipe w, is a horizontal pipe,. v/, which opensinto the rectifying-chamber Q, which is an iron chest furnished with trays z z, on which are placed layers of fresh unslaked lime. In

front of each horizontal retort I I is placed a thermometer (see a a', Fig. 4) the bulb of which communicates with a small tube,' b', leading from the interior of the retort, by means of which, by turning a small stop-cock in the tube b, and allowing the contents of the retort to come in contact with the bulb of the thermometer, the exact degree of heat in the retorts may be ascertained.. The ,crude oil Ifrom the tanks H H having been run into the horizontal retorts, as already stated, there is From From each of these heads Jy right pipe fu, and the heads J and L being kept surrounded by cold water in the yjackets K andM, the vapor is continually condensed and running back again down/the pipe e into the retort, and thus is distilled over andr over again. Vha'teveryapor is not condensed in the heads J and L passes down the pipe O into the receiver P, where it condenses, and whenever it is desired' it may be let into the retort again through the pipe w by turning the stopcock x2. After this process has been cont-inued from six to twelvehours I' reduce the heat so as to stop the ebullition of the contents of the retort, and the oil will then rise to the top of the alkaline solution, which latter is drawn off from below by the cocks ce, leaving the oil only in the retorts. The water is also drawn off from the jackets K M around the heads J L bythe cocks c c', it being no longer desired to condense the oil in the heads, and any oil which may have collected in theI receiver P isrun back into the retorts by turningV the stop-cock x2 in the pipe w. The cock x in the pipe O being then shut, and, the cocks x and x in the pipes N and y being opened, "(the cock z2 in the pipe w being still closed,) the heat is again raised and the vapor of the oil passing through pipes'v and'N, and through the receiver I) and pipe y,ent'ers the rectifyingchamber Q, where it passes over the line laid on,the trays z e, and is thus purified from acids and other impurities. The oleaginous vapor thence passes from the reetifying-chamber Q, through a pipe, d', into a second con denser, R-,where it traverses the refrigeratory worm e', which is immersed. in water at the temperature of about 50 Fahrenheit.` Here, being again condensed into oil,it runs through the pipe j" into the cistern S, which is open at the top and lined with lead. To the oil in this cistern is added from time to time dilute nitric or inuriatic acid, about half a pound to the gallon of oil. This must be well mixed with the oil, and to effect this a paddle, made of wood and covered with lead, of the shape shown in Fig. T, and marked L in Fig. 6, is inserted in the cistern S, towhich an oscillating motion is communicated by a crank, g, and lever h.. (See Fig. 6.) This paddle, passing rapidly backward and forward throughthe oil and acid, intermingles them effectually. After this process is continued for about four hours the oscillations of the paddle cease,and the oil remains inthe cistern S until'separ'ated from the thickened acid, when it is drawn off by the pipe 'i' into a close vcircular cistern, T, which is also lined with lead. In this cistern T is a perforated paddle, k, of the shape shown in Fig. 8, which revolves on its axis, being geared to the main shaft by the wheels Z m', in order to mix thoroughly with the oil a weak solution of caustic lime, which is added to it in the cistern. After mixing for three hours there is added to the oil and lime about a quarter of apound of nitric or muriatic acid to every gallon of oil, and the revolutions of the paddle 7c are continued for three hours longer.A

Itis then allowed to settle until the oil separates itself from the lime and acid, when the oil is drawn off into a suitable receptacle and returned to the horizontal retorts I I, Where it is again distilled, and, passing through the rectifying-chamberQand'me refrigeratory worm c in the condenser R, it is pumped into the boiler U, (where there is added to it about half a l pound of caustic potash to every gallon of oil,)

and is there exposed to the direct action of steam. This I effect as follows: Two cylindrical iron boilers, U and V, are placed side by side over a furnace. (See Fig. 9.) The boiler V is a boiler such as is ordinarily used for the generation lof steam from Water, and the boiler U is like it, excepting that a long steam-pipe, a', extends horizontally from one end to the other of the boiler U and Wit-hin a short distance of the bottom. This pipe is closed at both ends, but is perforated through-V out its length with small holes, to allow of the escape from itof the steam fromthe boiler V. A pipe, W, from the top of the steamboiler V, connects the steam-pipe a with the steam`-chamber of the boiler V, passing down through the oil-boiler U,and uniting with the horizontal pipe n at right angles thereto. stop-cock, of, or valve regulates the admis` sion of steam from the steam-boiler V into the oilboiler U, and stop-cocks g' q at the bottom of the oil-boiler Uallow the Wat-er from the coudensed steam to be drawn off when the boiling is terminated. The oil is kept boiling for twelve hours, during all Which'time the steam from the boiler V is admitted into. the boiler U, and passes through the oil.

The foregoing is a description of all the apparatus necessary to be used for purifying the crude oil; but the process of purification doesy not stop here, but the apparatus already described is used for the subsequent parts of the process, which are .briefly as follows: The oil is drawn off from the oil-boiler U into the lead-lined cistern S, Where it is mixed by the paddle` L, Fig. 6, with asolutionV of caustic remains about a Week at a temperature of 60,

Fahrenheit, to alloT all impurities to settle. Theoil is then fit for use, being highly in-I flammable, extremely volatile, and very fluid. A greater degree of purity may be obtained byla further repetition of the distilling and steaming processes, and ltreatment with caustic lime, potash, and acids, as described, or by ltration through pulverized animalcharcoal, 85o.

Having thus described my improved apparatus for purifying. crude oil obtained from bituminous coal and other bituminous miner als, I wish distinctly to be understood. that Ido not claim any of the individual part-s of my apparatus per se; but

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by 'Letters Patent, is-

The arrangement of the horizontal. retorts I I,'. as combined with the copper heads J and -L of the rectifying-chamber Q of the steamconduits to the oil-boiler, and of the agitating apparatus, in the manner and for the purposes described.

In testimonyY whereof I have hereunto -set my hand this 5th day of December, A. D. 1855.

C. CHERRY.

Witnesses:

WM. N. HOWARD, N. BUoKMAsTER. 

